Silk Ribbon
by Elf Asato
Summary: A fic for Watari's birthday.


**Title**: Silk Ribbon

**Author**: Elf Asato

**Warnings**: A mellow Watari ^^;;

**Disclaimer**: Sadly, I don't own any of this and I'm not writing for profit T_T

**Summary**: Watari has died and turned fifty.  *solemn nod*

**Notes**: Imagine if _you_ were fifty, but didn't look a day over twenty-five XD

**Silk Ribbon**

**By Elf Asato**

It was a quarter after eight and the birds were finishing their last minute preparations, rushing around hurriedly before their human woke up to seize the day on his own.  One of the toucans had decorated herself with a flower wreath made from the wildflowers outside and was quickly handing (er, winging?) them out to her fellow birds as they flew around, doing their various duties.  An anxious penguin squawked rapidly in a quiet chatter and all the birds paused to listen to her carefully, absorbing her every sound as they tried to make sense of it.  Given up on speech, the penguin just pointed desperately towards the big clock hanging on the wall and made wild gestures.  At once, the entire bird community flew into full panic mode, except for a few of the older and more experienced members.  A tiny owl that seemed to be the brains of the operation dashed around to try to calm everyone and encourage them to work quickly.  Despite her size, the other birds listened to and respected her for her intelligence and the fact that she accompanied their human during most working hours.  Thanks to her, the birds calmed down and resumed their preparations quietly.

The last bird finished hanging the streamers at nearly eight thirty and flew swiftly to join her friends congregated at the foot of their human's bed.  They had been waiting for her to return and upon her doing so, the tiny owl directing gave the go-ahead to the dove perched on the headrest.

She stretched her wings languidly, this having been her only exercise the entire morning, as she looked over her formal attire once again to ensure its crispness.  For the dove wearing a beautiful maroon evening gown, this was her only job for the occasion – being the one to wake up their human.  Silently descending upon his pillow as two sparrows gently laid a coral pink carnation on either side of his head, the dove gently brushed her wing across his cheek lovingly.  The two sparrows departed quickly and joined the rest of the birds settled on the foot of the bed, watching anxiously as she caressed his other cheek with one wing and affectionately brushed a few blond tendrils from his forehead.

Their human's eyelids slowly fluttered open as the dove continued her tender caresses in long and gentle strokes until amber eyes were fully revealed.  He blinked several times before his eyes leisurely adjusted to the congregation of birds before him.  "Oh," he said finally in a soft mutter as the birds stiffened and leaned forward in anxious anticipation, "good morning, girls."

At once the entire room with filled with excitable bird chatter – all of which was directed toward the surprised individual in bed struggling to make sense out of everything he heard.

"I – I'm sorry, what?" he apologized, sitting up and leaning closer to the girls in hopes of being able to understand them better.  "I can't understand anything when you all talk at once."

The confusing chatter died down with the help of the elder birds hushing the younger and more excitable ones.  The tiny owl fluttered to her human's shoulder, gave him a peck on the cheek, and when her soft, but confident hoots carried throughout the room, she spoke for the entire bird community situated at the foot of her human's bed.

"…Happy…birthday…?" he repeated softly as his brows furrowed, trying to make sense of it.  "But to – oh, that's right!  Today's my birthday – I completely forgot all about it!  Thank you for reminding me, girls."  He gave each and every one of them a smile as they squawked amongst themselves and to him in a relaxed and relieved fashion.  Seeing the two carnations out the corner of his eye, he delicately picked them each up and held them in his hands.  "Did you get these from the garden?" he asked the penguin who had come to his side to lay a flower wreath on top his head.  She nodded and smiled happily when he patted her head affectionately and responded, "Then we'd better find a vase for them so they don't die."

The penguin, all too eager to serve and be of help, insisted that he let her take care of it and not worry himself.  She took off escorted by several other birds to attend to the flowers and left her human still sitting in bed with a smile and peace of mind.

"…How old am I today, 003?" he asked the tiny owl still perched on his shoulder curiously.  "I've had so many birthdays since coming here…"

She gave him a loving peck on the cheek and embraced his neck with her wings before answering.

Her human looked off, oddly distant for a second, then smiled back to her.  "You're always right on the ball as always, 003.  I'd probably even forget who I was if it weren't for you!"  As she hooted and nodded in agreement, he removed himself from the comfort of his bed, making sure that the tiny owl didn't fall off his shoulder in the process, and proposed to the birds present in the room chattering happily, "Let's all eat breakfast in the garden this morning."

The birds chirped in excitable agreement and most of them scurried off to relay the information to others and prepare the garden for breakfast, but those that were left flocked to their human's wardrobe to eagerly show him the clothes they had laid out for him that morning – a thin, but soft coral long-sleeved shirt to match striking black slacks.  A small finch wriggled its way into the wardrobe through a crack in the door and came out seconds later with a long and thick silk ribbon to match the shirt in color, handing it to her grateful human who accepted the past birthday present from a dear friend with a nostalgic smile.

"Thank you," he replied graciously, his voice sounding pensive and distant, "thank you all for your kindness.  …You really didn't need to go through all this trouble for me."   Wrapping the ribbon around his finger, he stroked the finch that brought the gift to him lovingly on the head as 003 hooted.  Her human shook his head and replied with a peaceful smile, "Yes, but a birthday is really just another day, you know."

The birds fell silent, flapping their wings awkwardly, and shared many glances, though eventually all eyes fell upon the tiny owl for support.  She watched her human run his finger over the fabric of the shirt with the ribbon, absorbed in it completely it seemed, in silence.  By ruffling her feathers, she hoped to capture his attention, but he didn't even notice and continued to be utterly immersed in the shirt and ribbon.

"…Fifty, eh…?" their human murmured absent-mindedly, his voice sounding very distant and personal as he stroked the tiny owl's head pensively.  "That's…half a century…"

Not liking that her human wasn't entirely there with them, 003 made a desperate attempt for his attention by biting his hand brusquely and ruffled her feathers in an indignant manner when he abruptly pulled away his hand, wincing at the twinge, and was brought back into reality.

"Ah, sorry," he apologized to her and the other birds in the room with an diffident smile, "just seems weird, that's all."  When one of the sparrows chirped a single note and the other birds joined in agreement, her human patted the sparrow on the head and reassured the rest of them, "Yes, I'm alright.  Now, why don't you girls go see how the others are coming along with breakfast?  I'll get ready and join you in a bit."

The birds carefully exchanged glances in silent communication and, by the lead of the tiny owl, fluttered off together with a bit of reluctance, leaving their human standing alone in his bedroom, still holding the silk ribbon.  He gave the fabric that held so many years worth of memories one last delicate stroke before setting it down to get ready for breakfast and work.

**Ending notes**: Yeah, you'd feel weird, too, if you were turning fifty.  It's probably because I'm lazy, but I think this could almost comfortably be ended here.  Maybe at a later date I'll pick up and continue this, but for right now, this is Watari's birthday present. ^_^

_4.18.2003_


End file.
